Preserving (Made At Home)

A new series for living the good life!

Made At Home

This exciting series comes from the father-and-son team Dick and James Strawbridge, who live "the good life" on their small acreage. In Made At Home they share the knowledge and experience gained over years of producing an abundance of good things to eat and drink: organic fruits and vegetables eaten, juiced, fermented and preserved; pigs smoked for ham, sausages, salamis and bacon; a mixed flock of birds used for eggs and eating; and bees for honey, to name a few. It's an enviable lifestyle driven by a desire to eat well every day.

It is also a lifestyle that does not require a lot of space. Made At Home contains numerous adaptations to urban and suburban life. Plants are grown in small lots and pots, chickens are kept in backyard pens, and meat items, such as sausages, are smoked in the backyard. Proof positive that anyone can live the good life.

How to enjoy seasonal produce all year long, with 63 recipes.

This Made At Home title is a comprehensive guide to preserving foods. It covers the wide variety of methods, such as dried, preserved, pickled and frozen. Detailed instructions show how to make dried herbs, wines, ciders, vinegars, oils, cordials, jams, jellies, pickles, marmalades, relishes, chutneys, sauces, sorbets, ice cream, vegetables and fruits, and much more. Easy and delicious recipes featuring the preserved item are found throughout the book.

Chapters are organized according to method:

• Storing Fresh Produce -- Refrigeration, clamping, root cellars, store rooms
• Drying -- Flavor, equipment, air drying, solar drying, oven drying
• Jars and Bottles -- Sterilization, pickling, hot pickling, fermenting
• Freezing -- Times and temperatures, blanching vegetables, cooked foods.

The book also has 63 recipes for such delicious dishes as Seafood Kebabs with Chili and Herb Rub, Chili Chocolate Brownies with Orange Sorbet, Piccalilli, Salmon Baked with Cucumber and Dill Relish, Strawberry and Champagne Trifle and Lemon Curd Cake.

Preserving is aimed directly at an audience who dream of or are actually enjoying the authors' made-at-home lifestyle. It is a beautiful and practical addition to the cookbook shelf.

Dick and James Strawbridge are featured in BBC's It's Not Easy Being Green series, which documented their move from city to farm. Dick is an active television personality and last year he earned second place on the BBC's Celebrity Masterchef. They are the authors of It's Not Easy Being Green and Practical Self-Sufficiency.